Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

While none of the work we do is very important, it is important that we do a great deal of it

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

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You know, that might be the answer – to act boastfully about something we ought to be ashamed of. That’s a trick that never seems to fail. ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22 “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, […]

I get the willies when I see closed doors.

Something Happened by Joseph Heller

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This is a truly remarkable book that I don’t think anybody will like. And that maybe includes me. I can’t recommend it at all, but you could very well get sucked into and be entirely compelled to read it (I did!) and think it’s brilliant and awful, like I did. One of the best thins written about Ulysses is from the US judge that declared that it was unfair to consider it obscene, allowing its publication: that it’s boring storyline is what made it great […]

Who can explain malaria as a consequence for fornication?

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

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A very generous read of this book chalks up the misogyny of many of the characters as a kind of full exposure without apology of the rape and sexual violence committed by US servicemen. It’s an odd but obvious omission from the general rule and understanding that sexual violence is a tool of war, but “not” for Americans. This book is savage and brutal though. And in many ways, it’s purely a dystopian and the plot follows more or less along the same lines as […]

Satirical Dark Humor

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Catch-22 is a classic that I started in high school and for some reason never finished, and I wanted to give it another shot. It’s the story of a military squadron on the island of Pianosa, off the coast of Italy, during World War II. Technically, it’s more about bombardier John Yossarian than about any other character, but it’s essentially an ensemble cast. Most chapters are titled after a character, although sometimes that character only makes a brief appearance. Yossarian has flown his required number of […]

Theater of the Absurd in the Mediterranean Theater

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Catch-22 has infiltrated the American vernacular and is considered a classic that everyone should read. . .  and it took me ages to get through. I picked it up in March and put it down a few days later because all the circular reasoning and time hopping at the beginning. I started it again at the end of May and finally finished it, I must say it gets better towards the end although it gets much darker in tone. “Sure, there’s a catch,” Doc Daneeka replied. “Catch-22. […]



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